about a month ago a little girl at school was diagnosed with ewings sarcoma. she is an amazing child--a really cool fourth grader. i had her in my third grade class when i was subbing at school, and hope to get her again in fifth grade; she's awesome. her family is really nice: mom is wonderful and smiling and supportive, dad laughs a lot, her grandmother is an author who i met at barnes & noble last summer and chatted with at length (loved her local fictional novel!), and her two little sisters are sweet as can be. she is talented, smart, humble, and funny. she follows the rules but pushes her learning limits. curious and ambitious, she does her work without complaint and never hesitates to help and encourage others. on top of her school work she is forever writing stories and drawing pictures and sharing them with classmates; she wrote me a really great thanksgiving story last fall--i loved it! we need her here and i have (almost) every confidence she'll stay with us. i surely have every HOPE she'll get to stay here with us.
this poor child underwent surgery two weeks ago, getting "cysts" removed and some of her toes taken. she's still smiling. she's about to start chemotherapy and continues to laugh and seems cheerful. i saw her last week at a benefit for her; her aunt was pushing her around in a wheelchair while she made her brief appearance at the event.
said benefit is the inspiration for this blog. two of the family's neighbors put their heads together a few weeks ago and gathered many other neighbors, local business, and other school families to put on what turned out to be a huge benefit. Hugs for Harper was a mix of "vendors" selling everything from embroidered purses & napkins to local toys; matching mom & daughter clothes to jewelery, handmade knitted hats, scarves, & mittens and just about everything in between. there was a pampered chef rep there, as well as an arbonne lady. almost every single seller gave ALL of their profits to the cause. the handful of "percentage donors" gave at least 40% of their sales. on top of that, there was a bake sale of donated yummies and a silent auction and raffle of donated goods (hockey tickets, salon certificates, dinners, charleston tours, paintings, etc.). the sale was for three hours friday evening and three hours sunday afternoon; the ladies heading up the event were hoping to rake in $2000. at the end of the sale friday night they'd reached their goal. TWICE. and then some. by the end of sunday's leg of the event, the total count of donated sales and auction & raffle money was $10,000. TEN GRAND in six hours. wow.
it gets better. harper's mom was at school one day picking up her other daughter and giving the office a report on h's surgery and all that was going on. in horror and embarrassment, she looked at the principal and school secretary and exclaimed, "oh my goodness, i haven't paid tuition! i completely forgot!" the response? are you ready for this?
"don't worry! another family has already taken care of it. you're paid through the end of the school year."
my favorite part about that is those people, whoever they are, didn't want any credit for their extremely generous & good deed. as much as people do rotten things and news seems to get worse, and entitlement & vanity overtake gratitude & joy, i am reminded that humans are good. i suppose--well, hope--there are far more of us who are likely to be helpful, charitable, kind and unselfish. it sure would be nice if we could hear about the person who reaches out and lends a hand more often, rather than the ones who ruin it for everyone else. it makes me smile to know there are these good, wholesome, loving people right in my community. look for them in yours--and share their good news with everyone you can. remember them when you feel frustrated and annoyed by the folks who want and never give back and show never-ending selfishness. there are fabulous people out there--just look for 'em! and tell us about them whenever you can!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment